Patrick Swayze as Johnny Castle
“There’s just something about dance. It’s like a primal thing in all of us”
• Swayze is portrayed as dance instructor ‘Johnny Castle’, his breakthrough role in Dirty Dancing (1987). The coming of age story, which achieved massive international success, led to Patrick receiving a Golden Globe® nomination for his role. He received another nomination for his role as ‘Sam Wheat’ in Ghost (1990)
• A trained dancer, Patrick studied gymnastics at San Jacinto College before moving to New York in 1972 to complete his formal dance training at the Harkness Ballet and Joffrey Ballet schools
• In 1975 Patrick married Lisa Niemi, an American actress and dancer. They had met when Lisa attended dance lessons with his mother, choreographer Patsy Swayze. The pair remained married until his death from pancreatic cancer in 2009
Born Patrick Wayne Swayze on August 18, 1952 in Houston, TX
Died September 14, 2009 in Los Angeles, CA
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